FOOTBALL: Bears’ Purdie shines on offense, defense

Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 04:42 PM.

Purdie, who has aspirations of playing Division I football, is hoping to hear from many more colleges in the near future.

He still has another year to prove himself.

“To get there, I need to keep my grades right in school, keep staying focused and continue to work hard on the football field,” Purdie said.

Purdie has been one of the star players on New Bern’s defense, which has yielded just 12 points per game to its opponents.

Purdie has 133 tackles and 10 sacks. He recorded a season-high 18 tackles in a 34-33 win over Havelock on Aug. 24.

He has 102 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

“Playing linebacker, he reads a play and it’s fun to see how fast he gets from point A to point B,” Curlings said. “Same thing on offense, you get the ball in his hands and he hits the hole faster than anyone we’ve got.”

Cody Purdie has all the makings of a future Division I college prospect.

New Bern’s junior has speed, packs a powerful hit and has an ability to make plays on offense and defense.

Purdie, at linebacker, leads New Bern’s football team in tackles and is second in sacks. On offense, he makes for an efficient short-yardage running back.

“He is one of the better natural athletes that we have on the team,” New Bern coach Bobby Curlings said. “He is explosive on both sides. If you watch him on film, he stands out.”

Purdie is already receiving attention from opponents, as well as college coaches.

He said he’s already gotten letters from N.C. State, Oregon and Vanderbilt, among others.

“It feels good to get that,” Purdie said. “It shows how hard I play. I come out every Friday and play harder.”

Purdie, who has aspirations of playing Division I football, is hoping to hear from many more colleges in the near future.

He still has another year to prove himself.

“To get there, I need to keep my grades right in school, keep staying focused and continue to work hard on the football field,” Purdie said.

Purdie has been one of the star players on New Bern’s defense, which has yielded just 12 points per game to its opponents.

Purdie has 133 tackles and 10 sacks. He recorded a season-high 18 tackles in a 34-33 win over Havelock on Aug. 24.

He has 102 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

“Playing linebacker, he reads a play and it’s fun to see how fast he gets from point A to point B,” Curlings said. “Same thing on offense, you get the ball in his hands and he hits the hole faster than anyone we’ve got.”

Purdie said he enjoys playing on both sides of the football — scoring touchdowns and wrapping up opposing quarterbacks.

“It allows me to use my ability,” he said. “I am a power back and I run hard. Being able to run hard and get in the end zone is a big role.

“(At linebacker) I just try every play to get to the ball and keep my stats up. I go hard each and every play.”

Purdie, in his second season on varsity, attended various camps in the offseason.

He went to N.C. State, ECU and a Nike camp.

Purdie said he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds and maxed out in the bench-press at 315 pounds.

“I trained a lot,” Purdie said. “I worked out a lot and went to a lot of camps. I had to keep up.”